Want to maximize engagement on X while jumping onto the latest algorithm shifts?

The X algorithm is updated regularly, according to Elon's X vision, and changes like this one could influence your posting strategy based on what the X team wants to incentivize.

X user @NFT_GOD (“I promise I’m cool despite the name”) has analyzed the latest changes, based on the open-sourced code, and has found these key updates to X’s algorithmic approach.

Replies are being emphasized

According to the code, X is now looking to amplify replies to posts, with replies to content now getting more exposure than even retweets in the main “For You” feed.

Replies are an essential part of X's ad revenue share approach since creators will get a cut of the ad intake brought in by ads showing in reply stream. In this regard, it appears that X is attempting to display more eligible ads, focusing on more replies as the ideal basis for involving more people to take part in the same conversation, thus widening the scope for the display of ads.

Conceptually, this could unlock more conversations through the potential exposure, but it could also uncover more conversations you don't care about hijacking your main feed. Incentivising replies will also lead to more engagement bait posts, and those replies might not be as engaging as conversation starters, but it's an interesting experiment nonetheless, and something that you should factor into your X planning.

Video Push

X will also focus more on video content, whereas the "You might like" tag is going to be replaced by "Popular videos."

This is part of the overall effort by X to have more people consume more video content in the app, which X will then be able to monetize through ads inserted, thereby having more revenue-share options for video creators.

Elon has said he wants X to compete with YouTube, while new X CEO Linda Yaccarino is most experienced in selling ads against video content. The launch of Tucker Carlson's X exclusive show is just the start of what's likely to be a much bigger video push in the app, and the algorithm is now being re-aligned around this approach, while X is also developing new video viewing controls, and its full-screen video display.

Subscription Content

X will also focus on the creators who have subscriptions active. Much more of their posts and updates are going to appear in the feeds on X.
Again, X is eager to build its creator monetization ecosystem, as it seeks to attract more leading talent and retain them sharing in the app. That's probably why it's doing this, featuring popular creators to the interested users, with the aim of helping them earn more paying subscribers in the app.

That might turn out to be a more substantial benefit to turning on subscriptions.

Longer post life span

Meanwhile, Facebook also increases the time allowed for an eligible post to be shown in the main feed from 24 hours to 48 hours.

I don't know about this one. On one side, by widening the life expectancy of a trending post, that will give X the possibility to display the best-performing content to more and more users. On the other hand, the platform had traditionally been a core source for real-time updates, and this could weaken the value of the feed in that aspect.

The concept here apparently seems to be inspired from TikTok: to take the best available content, regardless of who or when it was posted, and show that to as many people as possible to increase engagement. At this level, though still more aligned with trending news, X's approach may have an impact on real-time updates.

No links

Even Elon himself has spoken up to point out that sharing links is not really going to help your post get more views:

Because the algorithm is one that recommends posts based on the time spent on them, both video and text content shared on this network naturally are boosters over links off network, as a link spends less time
Thus, if you wanted to use X for high traffic to your site. The truth is that just about any business looks for that. It's not the best vehicle for doing that.

X vs Threads

As expected, X also penalizes mentions of the term 'Threads' as well as links to the Meta competitor. Evidently, mentioning other competing social media apps result in a reach penalty, which isn't great news for dedicated social media news website that has to mention other social apps in its posts every day.

I’m not sure how far this extends in terms of post versus profile deboosting, but mentioning the competition is not something that Elon is open to.

I’d suggest using alternative descriptors, like the thread emoji instead, which many people are already doing.

These are some interesting notes on the latest X updates, and some of the things Elon and Co. are looking to focus in on as they evolve the app. Some of these will have unintended consequences, impact of losing so many experienced staff, but maybe, the new X team will be able to come across efficiencies and improvements as a result as well by trying things other apps have long dismissed as unimportant.